Young Again
by Bebe-Suke
Summary: Sephiroth has the unfortunate task of relaying the events of a misadventure to Angeal. Angeal's having some difficulties digesting the information. No pairings intended.
1. The Change

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters, I have never claimed to own them, and I never will (hence the term _dis_claimer). This story is completely non-profit, it was written for entertainment purposes only.

**Author's Notes:** Yet another of my stories that was inspired by a picture I found. That's about all that there is to be said about this particular fic. There _is_ a possibility for this to be continued if anyone would like me to, just let me know! Please enjoy!

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"You _must_ be joking."

The silver-haired general leveled green eyes upon his fellow 1st class from where he was seated at his desk. "I would not _joke_ about something like this, Angeal."

The standing SOLDIER closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to prevent his oncoming headache. "No," he sighed at length, "there's just no way. How could this even happen? You must be lying."

There was a steely glint in Sephiroth's gaze when the man began to speak again, his voice even as always. "It is unfortunate for you, Angeal, that the circumstances behind this event are unknown. However, I assure you," and here the general's words took on a sharp aspect, "I am not lying to you and the proof waits in the next room."

The tall man directed his stare to the door behind his comrade. "Zachary," he called, "you are free to enter now."

Angeal turned to face the door just as a small boy with wild black hair spiked about his face tumbled into the room shouting something that sounded vaguely like "Seph! What's with keeping me cooped up in there for an hour? I…" He stopped listening at that point of the boy's ranting, covering his eyes to block out the sight of a miniaturized version of Zack, swimming in an oversized shirt and struggling to keep baggy pants from bunching around his ankles. Glancing between spread fingers, Angeal grimaced as he saw his charge yelling and pointing menacingly at the general. That really wasn't a smart idea on the boy's part.

With a growl the 1st class SOLDIER placed a heavy hand upon the youth's head and gently pulled him backwards. The kid stumbled a bit, yipping slightly, but when he reached his mentor's side he grinned widely up at him. "Hi, Angeal! I didn't notice you there!" There was a brief moment where the man simply stared at the boy but then he rolled his eyes and looked away with another sigh.

"Sit puppy," he muttered to the boy, smiling gently; he may look younger now, but he was still the same old Zack. He then turned his attention to the man still seated before them. "What do I have to do?" he asked Sephiroth, noting the amused smirk the silver-haired man wore.

Leather-clad shoulders rose in a shrug, "The same thing you have been doing with him: train him to become a SOLDIER. You will have to be more cautious during exercises, as we had to confiscate the majority of his armament. His pauldrons alone were threatening to either engulf or smother him."

"Hey!" The shout of indignation from Zack drew the attention of both 1st class SOLDIERs and they stared curiously at him until he continued. "I am _not_ that small!" There was another long moment of silence in which the elder men exchanged amused looks until Angeal took pity upon the boy.

Leaning over he whispered into the youth's ear, "Pants, Zack." The younger SOLDIER flushed wildly as he scrambled to gather his clothing, clutching it close and avoiding eye contact with either of the other men in the room. Angeal's smirk widened, knowing full well the boy was suddenly very glad his shirt was now as long as it was.

Sephiroth's face had been carefully schooled to a nonchalant expression when he began to speak once more. "To resume where I was interrupted, we will search for the cause of this fiasco and immediately begin research on a way to reverse the effects of whatever it was that happened to your charge. In the meantime, continue his education and keep him safe and in good health. That is all, you are dismissed."

"Where will he stay?" The general paused at the question, mulling it over in his thoughts for a time.

"Ah, yes. Arrangements have been made for his housing. We will send someone to show him the way when preparations are complete."

Angeal felt another smirk growing as he glanced at the now fidgeting boy, "And his clothes?"

The look was returned by Sephiroth, "Someone is searching for replacements in a proper size as we speak. If that is all?"

"Yes, sir, General. We will take our leave now. Come on Pup, let's go." He marched off quickly noting the way Zack continuously tripped over his own feet as he stumbled along trying to keep up. He hoped Sephiroth remembered to find new boots for the boy as well.


	2. A Present

**Disclaimer:** See the first chapter, it should all be there, but just in case... well I don't own anything contained within.

**Author's Notes:** I was actually kinda shocked with how many people wanted me to continue this. It took me awhile to figure out exactly how I should continue, considering this was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I figured it out! Tell you the truth, I'm rather proud of how this is turning out. So, anyway, I am dedicating this to all the wonderful people who reviewed and let me know that they wanted to see more. Thank you!

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It was astounding, really, how quickly Sephiroth's assistant had managed to find replacements for Zack. Angeal had awoken that morning, not even four days after he'd been charged with this "mission," to find a large box sitting outside his door. Feeling slightly curious and concerned he'd carted the monstrous cardboard cube back into his quarters and cut open the seal. It was quite a shock to lift the flaps and reveal a large pile of material a sort of navy-blue purple mix beneath several pairs of standard-issue SOLDIER boots. Immediately recognizing what the items were, he'd stood and hefted the box off the floor before leaving his apartment.

Now, approximately a half hour later, he stood outside a different door, nearly identical to his own, holding an ungainly cardboard box in his arms and kicking at the door impatiently. "Zack," he shouted in irritation, "get out of bed and open this door!" There was no response and he shifted in an effort to get a better grasp upon the smooth cardboard as he lashed out at the unmoving door once more. "Zack," he called in a desperate attempt to coax the boy out from the confines of his new living space, "you have a present."

It was something of a miracle that Zack didn't crash into the door if the rapid patter of his running feet was any indication. The black-haired boy eased the door open, putting on a rather convincing show of having just woken up, rubbing his eyes and yawning in an exaggerated manner. "Angeal," he said in a weary voice gazing blearily up at his mentor, "you're here awful early today."

"Nice try," the elder man said as he gently pushed Zack to the side, balancing the box's entire weight on one arm as he passed into the apartment.

"Oh, alright," he heard the youth say just over the click of a closing door, "so I'm not the greatest actor."

"True enough." Angeal smirked as he settled his cargo upon the floor and began digging through its contents, imagining the scowl he was sure the boy had upon his features at that comment.

"No one ever said you had to have any sort of acting skills to join SOLDIER," Zack stated defensively before his tone softened into one of excitement. "So," he began hesitantly as Angeal kept his back to the boy, "you said I get a present?"

He could barely keep the smile from his face when he turned to face his charge, the item in his hands clinking gently against the great blade upon his back. "Sit down and I'll give it to you." The younger brunette bounded across the room, practically throwing himself onto the couch and holding out his hands expectantly as he smiled brightly. "So eager. Then here, catch!" His hand whipped out, tossing the metallic object to his student, not waiting to see his reaction before his was scrounging through the box once more. He listened carefully, though, as the boy fumbled with the item momentarily before getting a secure hold on it.

"A… helmet?"

"To hide your identity until we can fix you, I assume," Angeal replied as he faced Zack once more, grinning faintly at the disappointed frown on the boy's face as he stared at the metal in his hands. "That's not all either."

"There's more?" There was a faint glimmer of hope in the brunette's tone, and Angeal almost felt bad about smashing that hope to bits…_almost_.

"Of course! Here you are." He tossed a pair of boots and the rest of Zack's new uniform into the boy's lap, still marveling at how tiny each article was. He hadn't known they_ made_ anything that small.

His charge was glaring at the items now piled in his lap, most likely wishing for their utter and instantaneous annihilation. After a moment he looked up at Angeal with pleading blue eyes. "Does this mean I have to start training again?"

"No no, of course not Zack," and there was that shine of hope in bright eyes again, "this means you _get_ to start training again!" The hope was gone, and the boy let out a despondent wail as he threw himself, face first, into the cushions of his new couch.

"Angeal! That's not fair!" he cried.

"Oh, Zack" was the response he received as his mentor himself next to the boy and patted his head comfortingly, "of course it's fair! Now go get changed, we have a lot of work to catch up on."


End file.
